The Ultimate Elections Quiz

Presidential candidates spend millions of dollars on ads, trade inflammatory jabs on live television and crisscross the country many times over on their quest for votes. But beyond pulling a lever, punching a card or pressing a button, do you really know how the country's electoral system works?

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Question 1 of 10

In the United States, what determines the winner of a presidential election?

the popular vote

the Electoral College

The Electoral College system, as described in Article II, section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, allows people to vote for electors, who then cast their votes for the candidates.

campaign ads

Question 2 of 10

The Electoral College allows each state to have how many electors?

one

the number equal to the amount of a state's U.S. senators and U.S. representatives

The amount of each state's electors is determined by the number of its U.S. senators plus the number of its U.S. representatives. There are currently 538 electors, including the three who represent Washington, D.C.

the square root of a state's population

Question 3 of 10

How is the presidential candidate selected in Russia?

by the Electoral College

by government employees

by the popular vote

Russia has a direct voting system where the majority of popular votes wins the election.

Question 4 of 10

When do Americans officially find out the winner of the presidential election?

the Tuesday following the first Monday in November

Nov. 18

Jan. 6

Although they vote on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November, U.S. citizens don't always find out the winner of the election until the president of the Senate reads the electoral votes on Jan. 6.

Question 5 of 10

If no candidate wins a majority of electoral votes, how is the election decided?

by the Senate

by the House of Representatives

According to the 12th Amendment, the House of Representatives decides the winner of a presidential election in cases where neither candidate receives a majority of the votes. Only two elections have been decided this way.

by a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors

Question 6 of 10

How many of the electoral votes must a candidate receive in order to win?

260

270

Candidates need to receive 270 of the 538 electoral votes to declare victory. In the 2000 election, George W. Bush won the election by a single electoral vote.

280

Question 7 of 10

What's the name of the election that determines which candidate makes it into the general election?

a primary election

In a primary election, voters select who will go into the general election to represent their respective political parties.

a warm-up election

a practice election

Question 8 of 10

What kind of primary allows voters to cast a ballot for either party?

closed primary

open primary

Closed primaries only allow voters affiliated with a given party to vote for their chosen candidate within that party; open primaries allow voters to choose either party, regardless of their affiliation.

free primary

Question 9 of 10

States where no candidate has overwhelming support and the popular vote is up for grabs are known as what?

swing states

Swing states, also known as purple states or battleground states, are states where the popular vote is usually close and the outcome is up for grabs.

undecideds

orange states

Question 10 of 10

In 2006, how many registered voters were there in the United States?

170 million

In 2006, about 170 million people were registered to vote in the United States. That's a little more than half of the country's population of roughly 305 million people.